Commodore's Circle Cruise

On Sunday, May 1, 2011, Sea Scout ships 548 and 7916 hosted the Commodore's Circle Cruise for some of the most generous donors to the "Saveder PeLiKan" campaign. Four scouts and two skippers spent the weekend preparing for- and holding the event. This included bending on all three sails--including the crisp, blindingly white new main and mizzen; flushing the anti-freeze from- and refilling the vessel's two water tanks; conducting the usual system checks; scrubbing the galley; cleaning the heads; installing the commemorative brass plaque; scrubbing the deck; and preparing refreshments for the guests.

Our guests were: Dr. Rosemary Enright--Mate to Ship 7916--and her husband, Don Coulter; Carolyn Hreczuck--parent to a Ship 7916 scout--who was accompanied by her friend, Allison, since her husband is serving in Afghanistan and could not be with us.

With Ship 458 scout Brenda Renninger at the helm, der PeLiKan left the dock just after 1400, under gray skies and very light wind. Sarah Fucello, the Boatswain for Ship 7916, oversaw the duty rotation, so each scout had a turn as lookout and helmsman. Scouts Caitlin Keller and Daniel Schmoker, both of Ship 7916, were also instrumental in this event.

With scouts at the helm, der PeLiKan motored slowly around Baltimore's Inner Harbor, while guests and scouts were treated to interesting tidbits about various sights, like the Domino Sugar plant, and the collection of historic ships. The scouts then pointed the regional Sea Scout training vessel down the Patapsco River and under the Key Bridge. As it began to rain harder, the scout at the helm turned der PeLiKan around at Fort Carroll, and docked her in her slip.

Lightship Chesapeake Work Day

Sea Scouts from Ship 7916 put in about 6 hrs of work aboard the historic Lightship 116 "Chesapeake" on May 1, 2010. The scouts mostly painted, a constant job aboard ship. It was tedious and hot, but there was nary a complaint. "We're Sea Scouts, that's why!"

Happy Painters

Lunch was a brown bag affair in the mess deck where the skipper had eaten hundreds of times in her youth.

With painting complete, the scouts turned toward installing chafing gear on two of the dock lines. This took coordination and teamwork. Jared, Rebecca, Caitlin and Sarah took the pressure off the line, holding tight while their shipmates installed a piece of old fire hose to stop chafing on the line.









The scouts worked hard and felt the satisfaction of completing important work, helping to preserve a historic vessel.

The day also marked completion of a circle that began when the skipper started volunteering aboard "Chesapeake" soon after her eleventh birthday. When she turned 14 and of eligible age to join the Sea Scouts (called Explorers then), the National Park Service denied her application on the basis of gender, despite federal regulations. However, she continued to volunteer aboard the vessel until the fall after she turned 17. Now her own scouts--male and female--have spent a day aboard the Chesapeake, and so has she, not as a Sea Scout, but as a Sea Scout leader. Sweet.